Rotary engine.



No. 821,734. PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

' J. E. & J. M. PETERSON.

ROTARYl ENGINE. APPLIGATION FILED PEB. ze. 906.

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' PAIENTED MAY 29, 1906. J.,E. '& J. 4M. PETERSON.

ROTARY ENGINE. I APPLIoATIoN FILED 21:13.26, 190e.

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No. 821,734. PATENTBD MAY 29, 190e.

J. E. & J. M. PETERSON. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1906.

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UNTTED STATES PiENr Eieren.,

JACOB E. PETERSON AND JACOB M. PETERSON, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1906.

Application filed February 26, 1906. Serial No. 302,840.

T0 (LIZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JACOB E. PETERSON and JACOB M. PETERSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and we do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in rotary engines.

The objects of the invention are, first,- to provide an engine of the above type with a high degree of efficiency, which is obtained by balancing the pressure equally on opposite sides of the revolving piston; secondly, to govern the action of the traveling vanes by positive means, and, thirdly, to'admit the driving power to the piston simultaneously on opposite sides and at the same pressure.

Preceding a detail description of the invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings, of which-- Figure 1 is an end elevation of my improved rotary engine. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line @c a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line y 'y of Eig. 1.

In a detail description .of the invention similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts.

1 designates the engine-casing, having oppositely-disposed inlet-ports 2 2 and exhaustports 3 3, through which steam or other source of power is admitted simultaneously at uniform pressure and is discharged through the oppositely-disposed exhaust-ports simultaneously. The engine-casing is a cylindrical shell having its ends terminated in inturned flanges 1b. The diameter of said cylinder at any point between the inturned flanges is the same.

4 designates oppositely disposed slides which are supported upon the top and bottom portions 1a of the casing and are slidingly connected with' suitable operating-rods 5 5, pivotally connected to an operating-rod 6,'3which is pivoted at 7 to the side of the casing. The top and bottom portions 1 of. the cylinder form the inner inclosures of the ports and are of flattenedform on their inner and outer surfaces in order to provide a suitable support for the slides on their outer sides and a suitable bearing for the elongated packingstrips 9, which extend the length of the piston and will be again referred to. The rod 6 is operated to oppositely shift the slides 4 to simultaneously uncover and cover the oppositely-disposed inlet-ports 2 and exhaustports 3. It will be seen that other means may be employed to simultaneouslyv shift the slides 4 4, the means just described, consisting of the connecting-rods 5 5, and 6, being one means only. The top and bottom horizontal portions 1a of the casing, it will be understood, join the casing at their ends.

The inner sides of the parts 1fL of the casing are flattened, as before stated, and have dovetail recesses to receive suitable strips of packing 9, which project a proper distance on the interior of the casing to provide proper packing to prevent back pressure upon the vanes. The packing-strips 9 present throughout their exposed sides a flat surface in order to conform to the uniformly-cylindrical surface of the piston. The said piston 1() is of hollow form, with a hub 11, which is mounted upon shaft 12, having bearings 13. The piston is of uniform diameter with the excep- 4tion of the extreme ends, which terminate in annularly outwardly extended radial portions 10a. The outerl periphery of these parts 1()a of the pistonmeet the inturned flanges 1b of the casing and provide a proper place for external packing between each end of the piston and the casing. Extending between the hub and the rim of the piston are a series of four webs 14, each of which has a continuous opening of two diameters-to wit, 15 and l-the former extending throughout the length of the piston.

Within the larger openings or spaces 15 there is a series of four vanes 17, united at their inner edges to a series of guide-pins 18, that extend into the smaller openings 16. The vanes 17 are controlled throughout the rotation of the piston by rollers 20, which run in cam-races 19, to be presently again referred to. The steam or other source of power entering the inlet-ports 2 2 under uniform pressure rotate the piston by engaging the opposite vanes 17, and the steam or other IOO source of power expands on opposite sides of the piston in an even-balanced pressure. The vanes 17 are-held outwardly against the interior of the casing by the rollers 20 and the cameraces 19, and as said vanes reach the exhaustports 3 3 they are drawn inwardly toward the axis of the piston by the rollers 2() entering the upper and lower flattened portions of the cameraces 19. The rollers 20 are mounted at the ends of the vanes 17 by any suitable connection. The present connec tions consist of a series of angular levers 21. One end of each of said levers extends on the exterior of the iston and supports a roller 20, while the ot er end is secured directly to the vanes 17. These rollers 20, as before stated, travel in the races 19, said races being flattened above and below to a suitableex-` tent to move the vanes entirely within the piston when said vanes assume a vertical position. The upper and lower portions of said cam-races begin to move the vanes inwardly when said vanes arrive in proximity to the oppositely-disposed exhaust-A orts 3. The cam-races 19 on each side of t 1e casing coineide with tlie contour of said casing, so that the vanes are held in contact with the inte-l rior of the piston-chamber during the period of expansion. The vanes when contracted to their limit pass snugly by the packingglands 9 and are in position to make contact with the packing-glands 9 when the cylinder is exhausting. There is thus a substantially impassable connection for a time between the vertical piston-vanes and the packing, which prevents any appreciable back pressure on the piston. The cam-races 19 are formed in a ring 22, secured to the ends of the casing.

The rings 22 occupy positions at the extreme ends of the casing, so that the air is at all times enabled to maintain contact with the rollers and the cam grooves or races, thereby preventing a detrimental increase of temperature due to friction between these parts. These end rings 22 constitute open heads at each end of the cylindrical casing, and their inner peripheries need only be of suitable depth to provide the proper width for the races 19. Between the outer sides of the inturned flangesl 1b of the casing and the rings 22 there is provided space 1e for suith able packing, hereinbefore referred to, in connection with the inturned flanges 1b and the piston extensions 10a.

Having described our invention, we claim- 1. In' a reversible rotary engine, a cylindrical casing having its ends terminated in inturned flanges, said casing having oppositely-disposed flat portions witho positelydisposed inlet and outlet ports ying between said flattened portions and the adjacent sides of said casing, rings having camraces on their inner sides and united to the ends of the cylindrical casing beyond the in turned end flanges of said casing, a rotating piston having its ends terminated in out wardly and annularly extending flanges which meet the inturned flanges of the casing, the diameter of the piston being uniform between said end flanges, a series of vanes mounted within the piston, roller connections between the ends of said vanes and the camrings on the ends of the cylindrical casing, and packing-strips placed at opposite points in the flattened portions of the casing, said packing-strips presenting to the piston-vanes a straight surface throughout the lengthsof said piston-vanes, and slides controlling the oppositely-disposed inlet and outlet ports.

2. In a reversible rotary engine, a cylindrical casing having oppositely-disposed inlet and outlet ports, the ends of said casing terminating in inturned flanges, a rotating piston having its ends terminated in outwardly-extending annular flanges which meet the inturned flanges at the ends of the casing, rings united to the ends of the casing and providing suitable annular packing-pockets on the exterior of the ends of the casing and the piston, said rings having cam-races which lie inwardly from a circle at opposite points, piston-vanes mounted in the periphery of the piston between the end flanges of said piston and the end flanges of the casing, arms supporting rollers extending from theends of the piston-vanes, said rollers lying in the cam-races in the rings attached to the ends of the casing, and packing-strips united to the upper and lower flattened sides of the casing and presenting to the moving vanes a uniform surface, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JACOB E. PETERSON. JACOB M. PETERSON. Witnesses:

R. J. MCCARTY, C. M. THEOBALD.

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